


A Long Weekend

by Lullabymoon



Category: Inspector Lynley Mysteries (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 19:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lullabymoon/pseuds/Lullabymoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A weekend in Cornwall brings misunderstandings, a smirking sister and the need to rethink an important issue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Long Weekend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Thursday_Next](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursday_Next/gifts).



> Set sometime after 'Know Thine Enemy'.
> 
> Thanks to seren_ccd for the beta.

It was a remarkably warm morning for October, and Tommy joined Barbara on the patio with his tea. She was staring out over the garden and looked lost in thought. "You all right?"

She didn't turn to look at him as she answered. "Yeah, just enjoying the view. Bit different from London."

She brushed the crumbs from her lap and he noticed the empty plate beside her with the corner of toast and a smear of jam.

He finished off his own toast, enjoying the companionable silence and the leisurely breakfast with no need to rush to awareness just yet.

The peace was only broken when Judith banged her cup down as she joined them. She smiled at Barbara and leaned down to give her a hug before she sat beside her.

"What time did the pair of you get in last night? I must have been asleep." Judith frowned slightly.

"Just after eleven. The case kept us longer than we hoped so we didn't set out until after dinner."

Judith winced. "No wonder you both looked knackered."

"Thanks," Tommy gave a sardonic smile but her retort was halted by Mother.

"So this is where everyone is hiding."

She looked to be the only one who hadn't had a lie in, up and ready to face the day.

"We're not hiding, we are just relishing the peace and quiet." He looked at her. "Surely you should be doing the same, seeing as it is your birthday after all."

She leaned down to peck his cheek. "Well, at least you are awake."

He smiled. "Happy birthday," he heard Barbara and Judith chime in and Mother smiled.

She looked to Barbara, "Good morning, Barbara, did you sleep okay?"

Barbara nodded, "Fine, thank you." She looked a little awkward but it was covered by Tommy and Judith bantering again.

The conversation paused when a gunshot echoed through the air. He saw Barbara startle, her tea sloshing slightly and he tried to reach out unobtrusively to reassure her.

His mother noticed, as she seemed to do with most things. "Andrew started up shooting weekends up on his estate. It's the first day the full season is open so I suppose he will want to make the most of it."

Barbara took a slip of her tea to cover the fact she was still ashen and Tommy tried to help. "When did this start?"

"Last month but it has been mainly been clay pigeons up until now. Last winter was rather damaging to main house and he wants to get a lot of the work done before the winter sets in again." She stopped talking for a moment then looked at her watch, "Well, I had better started getting things organised." She stood and Barbara looked up.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

Mother looked amused.

"Not at all, just sit and enjoy your time off!" She looked slyly to Tommy. "I'm sure he has been overworking you."

He looked incredulous but Barbara was smirking so he let it slide for now and Mother took advantage and slipped inside.

The shots continued as they sat on the porch, at random intervals and he could see Barbara still caught unawares at each one but no longer jumping. She was getting tense though and he felt the need to do something. Judith was reading the morning paper, seemingly unawares but he caught her eyes flickering between them every now and then. He tried to ignore it as he drained his cup.

"Why don't I take you into town and the beach? You've not properly seen it outside a crime scene." He smiled wryly and Barbara's gaze flickered to him. She looked as though she was forcing herself to relax, a sure sign she knew what she was up to and he tried not to smile too brightly when she nodded her agreement anyway.

"I thought you said there wasn't much to it?"

He shrugged and he could see Judith hide a smile by bringing the paper up higher.

\--

He managed to find a parking space just off the main street, relatively quiet at this time of year as the season had all but ground to a halt. It was still blessedly warm, though the wind was coming in off the sea and whistling straight up the streets and he wished he had something more than his jumper on at times.

Most of the shops were quiet, and they bypassed most of them, only occasionally stopping in for Tommy to say hello to someone. Mainly though, he told her of past adventures, what sort of things could be found, mischief caused and she looked in a few windows, finding the perfect postcard to wind Winston up. It was a fairly quick tour, given she wasn't much for shopping at the best of times and they headed towards the beach.

"Is it always this quiet this time of year?" Barbara looked around the empty beach.

He nodded. "It's mainly locals or day-trippers. Although there is the occasional surfer."

She snorted as she looked out at the waves. "They must be mental."

"There is that possibility."

They fell into silence again and admired the scenery, only disturbed by a dog walker that waved hello as he dashed past, chasing his lab.

Their hair was windswept, kept blowing into their faces and it was Tommy that spoke first.

"We were down here all the time when we were young. My father used to take Judith and I down to have sandcastle competitions when we were getting to be a handful. There were a couple of times when we were out building when it was raining and freezing cold."

She laughed. "Who won?"

He turned and grinned at her, hair sweeping into his eyes. "We never usually got that far. All out war usually descended."

She laughed again, only stopping when she accidentally swallowed some hair. She pulled it out smiling as she tried to battle with the wind, giving up and turning into it so that her hair streamed out behind her.

"What was he like?"

"My father?" He looked almost surprised at the question.

She shrugged. "You've never really talked about him."

He looked surprised at that, then thoughtful. It was a long minute before he started speaking.

"He always played with us when we were young, but I can always remember that most of the time he was out working somewhere on the estate. It was him that taught us to ride,"

"Then of course there was the time that he was climbing the cliff over there," he pointed across the beach, "I must have been about six and I was trying to be just like him so I followed."

She smiled.

"Of course, I ended up getting stuck and he had to back down and rescue me. I don’t know what was worse, Mother's reaction or my mortification."

He was smiling softly and they were silent for another minute. The cold wind started getting the better of him, and he could see it was getting to her as well so he directed them off the beach.

On the walk back up to the car, they stopped for tea at the teashop halfway up the street. The bell rang as they opened the door and there was one other inside but that was all the better as it gave the waitresses a chance to fuss. The owner, Jessie, had been there for years and was a friend of the family and relished the opportunity both to fuss and embarrass Tommy. As they waited on the waitress coming with the tea, Jessie started asking him all sorts of questions, mainly about life in London.

"Your Mother will we glad to see you down." He nodded solemnly at this and she smiled as the teapot arrived.

"Now will you mange this time?"

He let out a groan and Barbara looked bemused. Jessie turned to her.

"When he was a litte'un, must have been about what," she looked at Tommy,

"Five," he answered with a sigh.

"Five, he decided he was a big boy and could pour his own tea thank you very much."

She looked back at him, "poor dear managed to spill it all down himself. Didn’t try again for a long while." Her voice was sad but she was smiling still and he heard Barbara repress a laugh.

"Yes, I have managed to master pouring my own tea."

Barbara snorted now and took a bite of scone as she obviously tried not to say anything.

Jess pulled up a seat, "why don’t I tell you about the time he brought his first date in?"

Barbara looked gleeful and he was seriously beginning to regret popping in.

\--

Barbara was laughing as they left the teashop and as much as it was good to hear, he would have rathered it wasn't directed at him.

\--

They walked into the kitchen, to find Judith trying, probably in vain, to convince Mother to relax and stop fussing over the preparations.

"It's my birthday and I will fuss if I want to."

Judith gave up, throwing her hands up in disgust. "All right. Here, let me help at least."

She moved beside Mother and casually started speaking. "Jessie phoned to say she couldn’t make it tonight,"

"Oh, that's a shame, I was looking forward to catching up with her."

Mother looked disappointed.

"Her nephew got called into work and she needs to babysit. She says she'll pop round on Monday lunchtime."

Mother nodded and Judith looked at Tommy, smiling. "That's not all she said."

He waited but she didn’t say anything else. He sighed and asked the obvious question. "What else did she say?"

"She wanted to know why we hadn’t told her you were seeing anyone and that your girlfriend was utterly delightful." She was grinning, the smile only growing as she noticed his discomfort.

He didn't say anything, a little shocked to be honest and it was Mother's cough that brought him out of his thoughts. He saw Barbara had stopped moving and caught the tail end of Mother's look to Judith.

"Come on, Barbara," Judith said, wiping her hands. "I'll give you a riding lesson while Tommy helps Mother." She practically pulled Barbara out of the kitchen in her haste.

Mother was quiet for a minute, letting him breath again. "People make false assumptions all the time Tommy. Given the amount of time you and Barbara spend together, and they way you argue, it can’t come as a surprise. Frankly, I'm surprised it hasn’t happened before."

She looked at him closely. "It does come as a surprise." She sighed as he nodded.

"So you've never thought…" She looked at him but he couldn’t answer. "You should," was all she said and she left him alone to ponder it.

\--

He found himself seated apart from Barbara at dinner; on the opposite side and two seats down. He was watching her whilst having a conversation with Susan Evans, trying to multitask as he tried to avoid thinking what Mother had said earlier and had been flitting through his head since then.

Barbara turned her head at that moment and he was too distracted to move quickly enough and she caught him. He smiled at her, watching only long enough to see the small smile she gave back in his direction before he tried to focus on the conversation he was having about shooting.

His mind half worried about Barbara though, she was still a little unsettled from this morning, and she looked a little out of her depth. He knew she was still a little uncomfortable here, especially with so many strangers and wearing something so completely different from normal. She was better than she used to be but still slightly uncomfortable.

Judith was sitting beside Barbara and as he turned to pick up his glass, he saw the smirk she sent his way. He rolled his eyes at her and tried not to think anymore as main course came out.

\--

He put his fork down with a sigh, dessert was delicious as to be expected and everyone, including Barbara, was chatting around the table. They moved through to the main lounge, coffee in hand and he founds himself talking to Barbara again.

"I thought you said it was going to be a little party? Though I should have realised your definition is a bit different."

He sighed. "We tried to talk her down to something smaller, something she wouldn't have to do as much for but in the end, she said it was her birthday and she'd celebrate how she liked, especially if she was doing most of the work for it."

"So a big do then?"

"It's not that big actually, mainly neighbours and close friends."

"It's just the big dining table, its," she shrugged and he couldn’t help but laugh softly.

He looked around the room and found he was being smirked at by Judith _again_. He sighed inwardly and decided it was time to talk to her, though he did stop and chat to several other people on his way over.

"You know you are not doing much to dispel everyone's assumptions?" She glanced back at Barbara, who had started talking to Andrew Vincent.

He frowned. "We're not doing anything out of the ordinary."

Judith laughed, "I know."

He took a sip of his drink and she sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Tommy, I know I shouldn’t find this as funny as I do, but the two of you really are like that." She looked at him apologetically and anything he was going to say was cut off as they were joined by Mother and one of her friends that he didn't quite recognise.

"What are the two of you plotting?"

"Tommy's love life." He noticed Judith's sympathy didn't last long. "Or lack of one." She shrugged and gave him the 'what are sisters for?' look.

His mother's friend (that he was racking his brain trying to remember the name of) smiled. "I heard something about that today."

He couldn't help the groan.

She laughed. "You've obviously been in London too long if you have forgotten how fast things travel around here."

He didn't reply, instead took another drink, so she turned to his mother. "So who is the famous Barbara?" She started looking around the room until Judith pointed Barbara out then she wandered off to go and talk to her.

He felt a stab of panic run through him, but before he could do anything, John Bailey grabbed him and asked his opinion on some reform. He couldn't shake the man and had to settle for glancing across at Barbara and hoping Mother won't let her be too badly interrogated.

\--

He finally managed to catch up with Barbara as the last of the guests were leaving. She looked a little worn out and he felt exhausted from the day so after saying goodnight to Mother and Judith, he walked her up the stairs.

He apologised half way up.

"Sorry, some of Mother's friends can be rather,"

Barbara gave a weak laugh. "It's all right."

By this time they were outside her bedroom door and she leaned against the door frame.

He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He just looked at her and she stared back, sagging a little and it pained him to see how tired she was.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded, not that he expected anything different but at least she wasn't hiding it too badly. He was suddenly at a loss of what else to say and the silence began to get uncomfortable and he hated it, flexing his fingers slightly as he tried to think.

It had been a long while since they've been this way around each other, and this time it was only a few harmless remarks that set it off. They'd managed to deal with far more embarrassing situations with far less fuss and fallout so he wasn't sure what was different this time.

It was Barbara that recovered first. "Well, I'll see you in the morning then." She didn't quite look at him as she said it though and it was all he could do to say good night.

He managed to walk away but the second his door was shut behind him, he leaned against it, head thudding slightly as he did so and he winced.

He let out a deep sigh and began to let the thought that there may be a little truth in the comments run properly through his mind.

He went to bed with his thoughts whirling and it was a while before he managed to drop off.

\--

He felt even more exhausted in the morning when he headed downstairs for breakfast. He sat down with coffee and cereal and he had just started when Barbara walked in, circles under her eyes and he knew she got even less sleep than he did.

"Morning."

"Good morning." She replied brightly and sat down with her toast. She looked down at it and squirmed slightly.

"Does riding always make you stiff?"

She acted completely normal and he realised she was trying to ignore the awkwardness of yesterday and went along with it, completely glad for the moment not to worry or have to think about that.

"Only if you ride for a long period of time or are new at it."

She groaned and he couldn't help but smile.

"We'll go for a walk after breakfast around the grounds, that should help with it."

"It’s not funny."

Mother walked in, cup of tea in her hand. "What’s not funny?"

"Barbara is suffering from her first attempt on a horse."

"Ah,"

"I'll take her for a walk later."

She nodded and they settled quietly into breakfast.

\--

They had moved to one of the wilder parts of the estate, mainly used to pasture sheep and he was just about to head back as he had the distinct impression Barbara had had enough of the country when he heard cursing behind him. He stopped and turned to see Barbara sprawled out on the ground. She was still muttering as she sat up and he reached her.

"Are you all right?"

She brushed him off. "I'm fine,"

"Can you get up?"

She nodded and he held out a hand to help her. She grabbed it but she winced in pain and went pale as she stood up. Her left leg buckled and he rushed to grab a hold of her round the waist so she didn't fall over.

She leaned heavily into him and bit her lip. He stood still for a moment to try and let her regain her balance.

"I've done something to my ankle and knee." She managed to speak.

"Damn." He looked back over the grounds. "We're going to have to hop back, do you think you can manage?

"Well, I'm going to have to, aren't I?"

He avoided answering and waited until she grabbed onto his shoulder for balance before starting the arduous process of heading back.

\--

He managed to get her to sit down in a chair on the patio, and watched as she pulled her trouser leg up to look at her leg.

Judith popped out of the house.

"Are you all right?" She asked Barbara.

She nodded shakily and Tommy tried not to roll his eyes.

"Looks like she has sprained her ankle and hit her knee. I'll take her to casualty, get it checked out."

He turned to Barbara. "Stay here, I'll get the car around as far as I can."

\--

The car ride to Newquay was fairly quiet, though Barbara winced at every bump the car went over. He couldn't help but try and check on her at every opportunity using the rear-view mirror.

The waiting room was fairly quiet at this time on a Sunday afternoon but he still couldn't help but fidget as they waited on the Doctor. At least she had been given painkillers by the nurse so she was feeling a little less green.

"I can't believe I tripped going for a walk in the garden. I feel so stupid."

"It could happen to anybody."

She phtfed and looked away.

"I'm beginning to think I shouldn't leave London."

He snorted and was saved from having to reply by the Doctor coming to see her. He waited in the waiting room as she was examined, not long but long enough for him to flip impatiently through the out of date magazines lying about.

He stood as she was wheeled back out.

"Well?"

"Nothing broken, just badly sprained. They've put a bandage on it and I'm getting crutches. Just need to get checked out back in London in a fortnight."

"All right."

"We'll have to wait for a couple of minutes to get the crutches."

He nodded passed her a magazine to pass the time. She looked at him askance before sighing and talking it off him.

She only got as far as mocking page four, when the nurse arrived out with the crutches. She was smiling at them as he helped her stand up and he was in no mood to try and decipher it so he focused on helping Barbara adjust the crutches.

\--

His mother fussed when they arrived back and he couldn’t help but do the same.

"Do you need anything? Drink, something to eat?" He got her a cushion as he asked and he was rewarded with a sigh.

"I'm fine, you don't need to fuss."

He looked at her as if asking really.

"Okay, I'm a bit sore but you still don't need to fuss."

He didn't reply to that as he caught Judith smirking again.

Barbara caught it this time too but Judith apologised before she could say anything. "Sorry."

Barbara shook her head. "I think I'm just getting grumpy."

Judith brushed it off and Mother spoke up. "Are you sure you're all right for travelling back to London tonight?"

Barbara nodded then grinned. "As long as Tommy doesn't go to fast,"

He moaned and Judith sniggered as she went out, saying she was going to put the kettle on.

\--

It was starting to get dark as they left the driveway, Barbara wedged in the back with her leg out in front of her, resting on the folded front passenger seat.

She was getting sleepy and strangely quiet, the only conversation taking place being the debate on some of the songs that were playing on the radio. She wasn't in the mood for any cheesy pop music, and he couldn't bear some of the jazz playing so they compromised on classic fm, turned down very low.

This carried on for a while, the motorway relatively quiet for once.

Of course, that would be the time the car chose to make a grinding noise and slow down. The car ground to a halt as he steered it towards the hard shoulder.

Turning the ignition on and off didn't help, and there was no indication on the dash that anything was wrong. The battery was still working though as he managed to put the hazards on.

Barbara was properly awake now and frowned as he got out the car. It was completely dark and the street lights didn't provide quite enough light but he grabbed the torch he kept in the boot and propped open the bonnet.

After a couple of minutes, Barbara opened a window.

"What's wrong?"

He dropped the bonnet, making sure it was properly shut, and got back in the car.

"I'm not sure, nothing is leaking or disconnected, or giving off any smoke." He slammed the door shut and rubbed his hands together to ward off the cold. "Looks like it's time to call the RAC."

She groaned.

\--

Forty five minutes later, they were still waiting in the car. The temperature had dropped and he had given Barbara the blanket he kept in the boot. She was still shivering slightly and he was a little concerned at how quiet she was. He supposed everything was catching up with her and he was slightly relieved as she took two paracetamol.

Conversation had stalled a while ago, not normally a problem but he could see she was upset and he wasn't sure whether or not to broach the subject.

She shifted in her seat and frowned slightly and he decided to speak up.

"Are you all right?"

She sighed and dropped her head back against the headrest. He winced at the thump.

"I just want to get back to London."

"This weekend been that bad?" He tried to lighten the atmosphere.

She looked at him like she couldn't believe he was trying to joke, most definitely annoyed.

"Half the town has been joking about me and I've buggered my leg." She took a breath. "And now the cars broken down in the middle of nowhere and it's cold and dark and I'm sore and I'm hungry."

"The M5 near Bristol does not constitute the middle of nowhere." It came out sharper than he intended and he spoke softer. "Besides, they were amused by both of us."

She sighed, muttered sorry and turned her head and looked out the window, trying not to look at him.

He cursed himself and got out the car. He saw her look sharply round, relief on her face when he left the door open and folded the front seat down so he could squeeze himself in the back.

"They didn’t mean anything by it."

"I know that, it's just it was everyone, all the time."

"Any one would think you thought the idea was horrible."

She whipped her head round to look at him. "It’s just none of their business if you're my best friend and we spend a lot of time together."

She looked a little confused and scared and he softened, could tell the same sorts of thoughts had been running around her head as his. He sighed.

"No, it's not."

They fell silent again.

"I mean, it's not like," he paused, wringing his hands.

"No, it's not," Barbara wasn't looking at him now.

The silence was getting painful but they were saved from saying more when the RAC van pulled up and cut in front of them.

\--

Half an hour later, the RAC man was thoroughly confused and had started to talk about towing the car to a garage. He was asking Tommy all sorts of questions about the car, trying in vain to figure out what was wrong.

In the end he shook his head and pronounced it would have to be towed.

Tommy groaned quietly then set about helping Barbara into the cabin of the van, wincing in sympathy as she banged her knee on the door frame. He waited a moment to see her begin to settle then went back to help connect his car to the back of the van.

He tried not to worry too much about the car as they attached it, and once it was done to everyone's satisfaction, he joined Barbara in the back of the cab.

She was already half asleep and the driver looked at her as he got in.

"She all right?"

Tommy nodded. "Just strained her knee today and it's been a long weekend."

"This is the last thing you need eh?"

He nodded again and Barbara pulled the blanket across her as the van started.

She couldn't get comfortable with her knee, there just wasn't quite enough room so he directed her to shift towards him and twist.

She ended up with her back pressed against his side and her leg stretched out in front of her along the seat. She leaned back against him, head falling on his shoulder.

"What about?" She was on the verge of falling asleep again so he took the easy way out for now.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. We're both tired and we need to think things through." He resisted the urge to place a kiss on the top of her head as she fell asleep.

He saw the driver glance at them in the mirror and brushed off his concern.

"It'll just be good to get back to London."

He watched the world rush by the windows and finally managed to relax as he saw the signs welcoming them to London.


End file.
